November 2013

View from a Bar: Shotz, Carol Stream, IL

Is it an off-night at Club Shotz or is it just me? Shotz is a massive sports bar with too many TVs to count, a banquet-hall-sized room of pool tables, a karaoke chamber, and even a modest closet of slot machines. The decor is a combination of DMV meets high school cafeteria. And tonight, it's practically empty.

No one plays pool, no one watches TV, no one throws darts. No one sings. It's a quiet sports bar, and those two things ("quiet" and "sports bar") should never go together. I didn't know it when I was driving around, but apparently I was in search of the saddest bar in town. It's a good place to feel rejected. Even the barkeep looks at me as nothing more than a tip-giver.

A draft of Octoberfest from Leinenkugel's from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, is close enough for tonight. Full-flavor but crisp-it actually wakes me up and gets me on my way. The sign out front reads
"Help Wanted" and I know exactly what they mean.